I recently injured my foot while running on an uneven soccer field. The injury didn't improve and I saw my internist - x-rays showed nothing abnormal. It's now been 5 weeks and there is still swelling on the top of my foot near the base of my toes. I discovered just a few days ago that one of my toes - the middle one on the injured foot - shows no resistance when pressure is put on it. Basically, if I put my hand under my foot and push up gently with one finger on each toe individually, I can feel resistance in every toe but that one. It is not cold or numb or tingling. If I move all my toes it moves some, though I'm not sure if it would move if I could isolate the muscles that control only it. When I hold my foot out in front of me and move it up and down I can feel the toe "flopping" (for lack of a better word) and brushing against the other toes as it does so. It is negatively impacting my daily life. I am in pain and worried about my foot/toe. I understand that broken and otherwise damaged toes are not often treated beyond pain management and control of swelling, and I don't have good enough health insurance to justify another trip to a doctor for a body part that isn't considered very significant. However, I think I need some answers before I can start accepting this as a now permanent factor in my life :) Can you offer any advice or explanation for this? I have talked to friends in the medical profession and they don't have a clue - even after examining my foot. Should I see another doctor? A podiatrist? An orthopedic doctor? Is it something to be worried about (as I am) or should I just chalk it up to an unlucky illustration of the complexity of the human body? :)
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